CLEVELAND — Now that the preseason is over, the Cleveland Browns must decide which 53 players they want to go to battle with during the upcoming 17-game regular season. The Browns, along with the rest of the NFL, are required to finalize their 53-man roster by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
While final roster decisions are made by general manager Andrew Berry, head coach Kevin Stefanski said he and his assistant coaches are continuing to have frequent conversations on who makes the squad.
“I think it is like anything else in any business, you want to believe you have a voice in this, and our coaches do,” Stefanski said. “They spend every waking minute with the players in these meeting rooms and out on the field, so the coaches have great insight into the players. Like I mentioned, though, the coaches also understand that it is Andrew’s decision. I think he takes in all of the information and will make the decision that is right for the Cleveland Browns.”
The current roster consists of 80 players after making several rounds of initial cuts earlier in the preseason.
“In any year, it is never easy because it is also a relationship business,” Stefanski said. “Like I mentioned earlier, we spend a lot of time together. You get to know people on a personal level. From my perspective, I see them working so hard on the practice field doing everything that I have asked them to do. That is the hard part when you can’t keep everyone, but I wish that the guys that we can’t keep, I hope they catch on elsewhere.”
The Browns concluded the preseason with a 19-10 victory over Atlanta on Sunday. Stefanski said the Browns came out of the exhibition with minor bumps and bruises, but no major injuries.
The team will have some time to heal any lingering bumps with a league-mandated three-day break coming Friday-Sunday.
